Incarceration and Injustice

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Transcript of Incarceration and Injustice

Incarceration and Injustice Racial Inequalities Racial Inequalities in Women and Youth Youth with no record have greater chance incarcerated than whites Number of arrested black youth outnumbers white youthBlack and Hispanic females have greater chances to be x-rayed, strip-searched, or patted down Policing Effects of Overcrowding Prison administration use discipline to maintain controlInmates have mental and physical illnessesNumber of inmates with illnesses increase Incarceration •714 prisoners per 100,000 residents •Unnecessary and counterproductive•People with ethnic and racial backgrounds, less education, and lower incomes are more likely to go to jail•Prisoners are stigmatized Race •Large racial disparities in prisons•1 in 8 black people incarcerated •Key factor: law enforcement related to drug war Poverty •People with lower incomes are incarcerated more often and have many disadvantages•Can’t afford good defense counsel •Children who live in poverty are at risk of becoming criminals•Poverty and incarceration create a cycle Education Prisons Public Safety Releasing the convicted Probation/ ParoleConcurrent sentencesRestitutionLife imprisonmentDeath Penalty Releasing the Convicted This is the least effective alternative to dealing with crimes being committed in the United States.Releasing someone dangerous creates fear and anxiety in the community. In the United Kingdom only 7% of people convicted actually go to jail. They are released to the public. Then they just commit the same crimes again.this is not effective because the crimes committed against the public by the criminals released adds up to 6 billion pounds, $9,102,600,000 US dollars. It's only $10,000 less to put the convicted away in the US. Parole & Probation Parole and probation are good alternatives to incarceration, because not only do both create jobs for people like parole and probation officers, but it keeps people out of jail and out in the real world. Parole is for criminals who have served their sentence. The parolee gets a parole officer to moniter him, the officer also helps the criminal adjust back to the outside world. This is a good alternative to life imprisonment because it help rehabilitate criminals.Probation helps people charged with misdemeanors. They don't have to go to jail, they just have to be good. They also get officers to moniter them and make sure they dont break their probation. Restitution Hana Ally Angela and Kate Crime Rate Houses over 2 million peopleBig business for the U.S.Punish people for criminal activity Prevent future crimes A deterrent Rehabilitate, or reform, criminals. Prisons have education programsReligionJobs for inmatesRiotsHomocides Safety in Prisons 64% of people in prison have not finished high schoolMany prisoners are dropoutsGap of college completion between rich and poor is growing Alternatives to Inarceration Majority of crimes occur in the same areaPolice patrol areas called "hot spots"Possibility of crime occurring if police return to area within 15 minutes Racial profiling is used by law enforcementBlack males have a greater chance than whites to be stopped and asked to step out of vehiclesBlack males that use drugs spend more time in prisonBlack males get a mandatory charges of a minimum offense WORKS CITED Dillon, Sam. "Large Urban-Suburban Gap Seen in Graduation Rates." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 16 May 2013. Website Loury, Glenn C. "Racial Disparity in Prisons Is the Result of Racism." Racism. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The New Untouchables: Crime, Punishment, and Race in America." UN Chronicle 44 (Sept. 2007): 53-55. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 May 2013.Mauer, Marc. "Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System Need to Be Addressed." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Justice for All? Challenging Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System." Human Rights 37.4 (Fall 2010). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 May 2013.Winslow, George. “Poverty Causes Crime.” Crime and Criminals. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Capital Crimes: The Political Economy of Crime in America.” Monthly Review 52 (Nov. 2000): 38. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 May 2013."Claims of racism in sentencing face probe." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 19 Feb. 2013: A4. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 May 2013.Haney, Craig. "Overcrowding in American Prisons Is Inhumane." America's Prisons. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional Reactions." Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 May 2013.Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund. "Minorities Are Unfairly Targeted by Law Enforcement." Wrong Then, Wrong Now: Racial Profiling Before and After September 11 2001. Washington, DC: Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, 2008. Rpt. in Civil Liberties. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 May 2013.Wilson, James Q. "Greater Incarceration and a Change in Culture Explain the Decline in Crime." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Crime and the Great Recession." City Journal 21.3 (Summer 2011). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 May 2013.Dieter, Richard C. "The High Cost of the Death Penalty." The High Cost of the Death Penalty. Web. 04 June 2013.Quarters, Cindy. "Facts About Parole Officers." Work. Web. 04 June 2013."Probation and Parole Are Good Alternatives to Incarceration." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Administering Justice." Americanmagazine.org (15 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 June 2013.Sowell, Thomas. "There Are High Costs to Incarceration Alternatives." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Left's Dangerous Justice." FrontPageMag.com. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 June 2013.Bayley, Bruce. "Prison Deters Crime." America's Prisons. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Custody vs. Treatment Debate: Deterrence—The Two Great Lies." CorrectionsOne. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 May 2013.Mauer, Marc. "Mandatory Minimum Sentences Are Ineffective." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Impact of Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Federal Sentencing." Judicature 94.1 (Aug. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 May 2013.Piehl, Anne Morrison, and Bert Useem. "The Other Big Crime Drop; What happened to America's violent prisons?" The Weekly Standard 28 Apr. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 May 2013."Probation and Parole Are Good Alternatives to Incarceration." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Administering Justice." Americanmagazine.org (15 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 May 2013.Wilson, James Q. "Greater Incarceration and a Change in Culture Explain the Decline in Crime." Criminal Justice. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Crime and the Great Recession." City Journal 21.3 (Summer 2011). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 May 2013. Restitution is another good alternative for jail time for certain offenses. Lots of people go to jail every day for things that aren't really that bad. Those who are incarcerated for having small amounts of drugs and drunk driving add up a lot. Restitution makes people "pay their debts to society." There are 3 types of restitution for offenders.Fine: the offender has to actually pay his debt to society. This is also called paying damages. Usually between $200 - $10,000.Parole Revocation: If the offender breaks parole the fine doubles.Direct Order: The offender must pay back the victim and the state for the crime. the fine is set by how much each victim lost due to the crime. There is no limit on this fine. The United States Average crime rate of 4.7 Boston crime rate of 11.78Chance of becoming a victim in Boston 1 in 85Massachusettes crime rate of 4.57Chance of becoming a victim in MA 1 in 219Murders reported in boston 61Rapes reported 272Robbery reported 2,436Assualts reported 4,172 The US spends $20 billion maintaining and building new prisons. New prisons need to be built because of over crowding.As of the end of Decemeber 2008, there were 1.6 billion people in state and federal prisons. Some of the people in state jails were only in holding, they havent even been sentenced yet for the crime committed. Capital Punishment The death penalty is one of the least economically effective ways to deal with crime. Lethal injection and other forms of execution are incredibly expensive. The criminals end up waiting on death row. In Texas there are currently 300+ criminals waiting on death row and each case is roughly $2.3 million each. Because capital punishment is so expensive, states that allow it usually have to cut jobs in the police force and parole officers get cut as well to fund capital punishment. Some prisoners even get released earlier. Deterence of crime Seperation from societyThe crime rate drop It's more expensive to put someone to death than to keep them in jail for life.